


P5R: NG+

by AdsoOfMelk



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, Let Sakamoto Ryuji Say Fuck, Multi, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Spoilers, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:26:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25745065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdsoOfMelk/pseuds/AdsoOfMelk
Summary: Just as Akira is on his way home, he suddenly finds himself in a familiar situation, with people that are suddenly not familiar with him. Follow this poor boy as he desperately tries to relive the best and most high-stakes year of his young life.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	P5R: NG+

With a heavy heart and a deep breath, Akira opened the front door and entered Leblanc. He couldn’t pinpoint the moment it became his home, but without hesitation we would call the small cafe his home. And now he was leaving it behind for a long time.

Almost numbly, he walked up to the bar, which Futaba stood in front of.

“You finish saying your goodbyes?” said Sojrio, who stood at his post behind the counter. The man wore his signature smirk, complete with a raised brow and half-lidded eyes.

Akira just nodded.

“Well, how’d it go?” Sojiro’s expression remained unchanged. “Did it make you feel like you wanna stay?”

“Of course,” Akira said without hesitation.

“I see. You must’ve made a lot of good memories here,” Sojiro said sagely as he stroked his goatee. “You’re leaving early tomorrow from Shibuya, right? Make sure you pack up before you head to sleep.” Akira just nodded again. Sojiro didn’t get a nickname like “Boss” for lack of giving orders.

“Oh, and take that stupid cat with you,” the old man continued. “I don’t want it getting lost and ending up back here.”

Morgana rocketed out of Akira’s bag and stood tall over his shoulder before shouting, “Don’t make fun of me! I can go wherever I want all by myself!”

Unable to understand the little cat, Sojiro could only rub the back of his head and complain. “It really never stops meowing, huh?” He finally turned to his adopted daughter. “Hey Futaba, what’s he saying? Is he sad that he has to leave me?”

Futaba, who was previously quiet, jerked her head to meet Sojiro’s eyes. Behind her oversized glasses Akira could see her eyes were a little red and swollen. She must have been crying after he left to say goodbye to everyone else. To the little girl’s credit, she quickly recovered from her stupor.

“He said: Sojiro’s stupid.”

“What!?”

“What kind of translation is that!?” Morgana yelled. “Let me have a nice goodbye!”

Futaba just leaned in and put her dainty hand in front of her face before letting out a mischievous laugh. “Mwehehee!”

“Mona’s _your_ responsibility now,” Futaba continued. “Leave Sojiro to me!”

Akira couldn’t stop smiling. He would miss this so much. But all he decided to say was, “I’ll be counting on you.”

“All right! I’ve been counted on!”

“Oh man...” Sojiro said under his breath. Futaba must not have heard him (or just as likely, she ignored him), because she kept talking.

“Even if you’re not here, I’ll make sure I do my best...” Her face fell and her cheeks reddened. “So... you go do your best too, Akira!” She removed her glasses to wipe the forming tears from her eyes, but she could not mask the cracking in her voice.

 _“hic—_ Thank you... for everything...”

Akira’s heart felt ready to burst. Of all the traumas the Phantom Thieves went through both before and during their tenure as a crew, Futaba’s was among the most awful, if not simply _the_ most awful. If he were better with words he would tell her how proud he was of her, both for seeking help at her lowest point, and for taking the big step of going to high school next semester. But instead he walked over and placed an arm around her in a half hug. She tensed momentarily, not expecting the contact. But she threw herself into him and wrapped her arms around his torso. She squeezed him as hard as she could, and he felt one of the discs in his spine pop. Akira looked over to Sojiro, expecting her father figure to disapprove of the intimacy. But instead the old man looked on with a genuine smile.

 _Even Boss has his moments,_ Akira thought.

Eventually, he was forced to peel Futaba off from him. He had to finish up packing, after all.

* * *

A little less than a year ago, Akira Kurusu was forced to move out of his hometown and into the attic of a hole-in-the-wall cafe tucked into a residential area in Tokyo. Back then, he felt homeless and lost. He felt like he would never have a home again, and that his past would haunt him for the rest of his days. He was certain that he would never feel more alone.

Now, he was leaving his friends behind. He wouldn’t see them again for a while, but he knew he would someday. He was abandoning the new life he made for himself to go back to his old, damaged one. Back then he didn’t know it, but that expulsion was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Now he was certain that even though their thieving days were over, his gang of misfits would always belong; that they’d always be together. Hell, they’d even said as much as they discussed how they would all be moving away from each other.

The gentle rocking of the train was making him tired. Morgana already napped in his carryon bag, so Akira decided to follow his partner’s lead. As he felt his eyelids droop, he mused that the next time he woke, he would be back. Not home, but back to where he lived before. And as sad as that made him, he couldn’t help but smile. There was something comforting in knowing that the most difficult part of his life was behind him. He was always a little sure of himself, but now he knew for a fact that he could handle anything life threw at him.

So he confidently went to sleep.

* * *

Akira pitched forward suddenly and gasped as he was torn from his slumber. In his tired post-nap haze, he simply shook his head and took a deep breath in. He reached to fix his glasses, forgetting that he had removed them before his little sleep on the bullet train.

Except... he was still wearing his glasses. And he wasn’t on the bullet train.

He frantically stood up in his seat. He knew for a _fact_ that he took his glasses off before falling asleep, and sure as hell knew that he didn’t get on a regular train. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that his bag was zipped up, and thus likely suffocating Morgana.

“Mona,” he said to himself quietly. He tore open his bag and found that his cat was missing. His mounting anxiety instantaneously evolved into full-blown panic. He turned to two worried girls who sat next to him. “Have you seen my cat?” he breathlessly asked. Cowering, they shook their heads at him.

 _Okay, calm down,_ he told himself. _Morgana can take care of himself. He’s quick and smart. Solve your own problem first. How did you get here?_

He racked his memory for an answer, but got none. His last memory was of sleeping on the bullet train that was on course to his hometown.

_Not a problem. Get off on the next stop and phone Sojiro to sort this out. Then you’ll message the old chat—_

“The next stop is Yongen-Jaya,” the train driver announced. “Yongen-Jaya. Please...”

 _A strange coincidence,_ Akira thought, _but a convenient one. Boss won’t be too far..._

He finally noticed he was in his Shujin uniform. Why?

“What the fuck is going on?” he whispered as he felt his brain unravel.

* * *

It wasn’t his finest moment. By the time the train made it to the Yongen-Jaya station, he had only just stopped hyperventilating. He coolly stepped off the train onto the very familiar platform that led straight to the sidewalks of his stomping grounds. He brushed back his hair, now wet with his anxious perspiration. He straightened out his back and absentmindedly took out his phone as he walked up the steps. His brain was going a mile a minute, postulating and shooting down the possibilities of what was happening. He casually checked his surroundings, being careful to detect and, if necessary, avoid anyone who might be tailing him. He opened his contact list to call the old man and...

His contact list was almost empty. The few names that he scrolled by in the app were of people he hadn’t talked to since he left home. Hell, he’d even _deleted_ some of these people from this list. What were they doing here? And what happened to all of the numbers he’d gotten since last spring? He checked his chat app to find that it was completely empty. The app only held his last fifty conversations, so he didn’t expect to see every message from the last year or anything. But there were _none. Zero._ It was all gone.

_I’m going crazy. I’ve simply gone insane._

He shambled through the streets of Yongen-Jaya at a total loss. He had given up. He would have to get in contact with the rest of the gang through Futaba after explaining to Sojiro that something had gone horribly wrong. Checking over his shoulder one final time, he turned into the alley where Leblanc stood.

Standing at the door, he felt like he should be happy to be back so soon. But he couldn’t be; not under these circumstances. With a shaking hand Akira opened the door to Leblanc and carefully walked in.

Sojiro sat in front of the bar, working on a crossword puzzle with his head down. In the middle booth sat the elderly couple that frequented the cafe. They quietly watched the TV as they sipped on their drinks. Akira immediately walked over to Sojiro.

“Boss, I think I might need the shop for a bit.”

Sojiro snapped his head up and glared at Akira, who was so startled by this reaction that he felt his eyebrows raise up in surprise.

“And just who the hell are _you?”_ Sojiro said in an accusatory voice.

Akira just stood there in wide-eyed shock. Was this a joke? Akira could count on his hands the number of jokes Boss made, and they were usually funny. This was not.

“Sojiro, it’s me. It’s Akira. Something’s wrong, can I talk to—”

“Oh, something’s wrong all right,” Sojiro said as he stood up straight. “I know who you are. Now where do you get off calling me “Boss” and “Sojiro,” huh? As long as you’re living here you’ll call me Sakura-san and _nothing else,_ you hear?”

“W-We’ll be on our way... Payment’s on the table,” muttered the old man. He and his wife nervously shuffled out of Leblanc.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Sojiro called after them, almost as an afterthought. He continued, “Now, back to you... You look really spooked. You on drugs or something, Kurusu?”

Akira’s mouth just hung open. What the hell was Sojiro talking about? “Needing the shop” was code for using Leblanc for Phantom Thief business, and he knew it. And what was with all this last-name business?

After Akira’s stunned silence, Sojiro just shook his head and sighed. “Look, I’ve already been paid for keeping you here, so I would prefer it if you just acted on your best behavior and stayed out of my way, okay? I’ll just chalk this up to getting off on the wrong foot and ignore it... for now.

“So, then. I’m Sojiro Sakura... But I guess you already knew that. Anyways, you’ll be in my custody over the next year.” Sojiro looked him up and down. “I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you’re the one, huh?”

Sojiro kept talking, but Akira wasn’t listening. For the second time today he wanted to say: _What the fuck is going on,_ except this time he had to worry about an amnesiac Sojiro getting angry at him for cussing. Akira was never so rude as to ask Sojiro for his age, but maybe he was a lot older than he looked?

Through his mind’s haze Akira faintly heard Sojiro say, “Follow me,” before walking up to his room. The attic would be where Akira could jog the old man’s memory. His bedroom would be where Akira could prove that he, the younger high school student, was not going insane, and that instead it was the middle aged man who had simply drank one too many cups of coffee this morning.

His bedroom looked the same as it did when he first laid eyes on it. He felt more color drain from his face. He made a third tally in his mind on the wall labeled _What the fuck is going on._

“You look like you wanna say something,” Sojiro said tersely, cutting through Akira’s frenzied thoughts.

“My stuff...” was the first thing to come to Akira’s mind and out of his mouth. He had left behind so many trinkets and posters that wouldn’t fit into his “going home” box. He offered to give them to his friends or sell them off, but Sojiro staunchly refused, saying it “gave the room some character.” Now they were all gone.

“Hm? Oh, your “luggage” arrived a little while ago,” Sojiro said, misinterpreting Akira’s comment. “I brought it up here for you.” Then, gesturing to the room, he continued, “It’s on you to clean up the rest. I’ll be leaving after I lock up each day. You’ll be alone at night, but don’t do anything stupid. I’ll throw you out if you cause any trouble.

“Now, then. I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right? That’s what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah?”

Akira wanted so badly to correct him. Sojiro _already_ knew that wasn’t true for God’s sake. But somehow, the thinking part of Akira’s brain convinced him to play along. Clearly either himself or Sojiro were not in their right mind, so starting a conflict would only end in disaster. So with clenched fists Akira simply stayed silent.

“And now that you’ve got a criminal record, you were expelled from your high school. The courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents also approved.

“In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass.” For some reason, hearing Sojiro say that now crushed his heart. Back then, this old timer was just another shitty adult who didn’t know what he was talking about. Now, it stung as badly as when his parents didn’t believe his side of the case; possibly even worse.

Sojiro wrapped up the conversation, explaining that they were going to Shujin tomorrow to introduce themselves to some staff, that he would go to juvie if he didn’t behave, and to not mention anything unnecessary to the customers. The last time they had this conversation, Akira kept quiet and barely said a thing because he was sheepish and still in a daze. Now he kept quiet because someone in the room was obviously insane and he wasn’t sure what worried him more: that it might be Sojiro or that it was probably himself.

Sojiro went downstairs, leaving Akira alone to further fall into madness. He was tempted to make his way over to the Sakura residence and immediately contact Futaba, but the chances that he would meet Sojiro there were high. If Akira was in Sojiro’s house while he was in this strange dissociative state, the resulting chaos could be harmful. Futaba would likely call him when she noticed something was wrong; after all, his own phone number was unchanged... right? He went to open his phone when he noticed the date.

**APRIL 9TH, 2016**

His heart skipped a beat before pounding wildly in his chest. Fearful tears began to well up in his eyes.

“What the fuck is going on?”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope to see this one to the end. I don't plan on detailing every day of Akira's life in this adventure, but I also plan on getting close. I also hope to not steal as much dialogue directly from the game as I did in this sort of prologue chapter, but if we're being honest Akira offers so little in the way of dialogue that you could often remove his lines and the conversation would remain unchanged. I'll see what I can do about that, but it will probably result in him being a lot more talkative than usual. Oh, well, it's not like that'll mean the end of the world anyway.
> 
> I also want to say that this is no way my attempt to "rewrite" Persona 5: The Royal. I love the story as it is and wouldn't change it in any way if I could. Well, there might be a few things, but that's still not my intention with this work. I simply want to write what the protagonist might do if he were in this situation, and follow his hectic journey of trying to make it all happen the same, but with a happier ending.
> 
> Last thing before I go: Akira knowing what happens when means more free time. More free time means more time for Akira to hang out with his friends. More hanging out means more romance. Romance certainly isn't the focus of this fic, and won't even really play a part until much later, but it will play a part in the later chapters.


End file.
